Daily Routine: 7-8 Months

Daily Routine:  Xavier experienced some sleep regression in the weeks leading up to his 8 month birthday.  It was so hard on me!  It's like he forgot how to sleep through the night.  We read it's common for babies who reach this age to go through sleep regression because their sleeping patterns start to change.  

We noticed Xavier went down from 3 naps a day to 2 naps a day (again, we didn't push any type of schedule on him and just went with the flow).  It made him more tired at bedtime and even more difficult to get him to calm down enough to take his bottle and fall asleep easily.  He'd cry constantly around bedtime, sometimes for up to an hour, and the only way to calm him down was to hold him and sleep with him.  We still keep Xavier on the 7PM to 7AM sleep schedule with a morning nap around 10 and an afternoon nap around 2.  These naps are short, just a half hour to 45 minutes each.  He would wake up all night long, crying, and we just let him cry it out.  He never cried for more than 15 min. at a time in the middle of the night, but we were always getting woken up.  After 2 or 3 weeks of doing this, we were exhausted.  

One night, we got up and fed Xavier a bottle around 11PM.  He inhaled it.  It hit us that he might be so distracted by the other kids at daycare that he won't eat because he wants to play.  But when he gets home, he's too tired/sleepy to catch up on his bottles.  So he falls asleep hungry.  After we incorporated these midnight feedings, he seemed to sleep well the rest of the night.  So that's what we do!  We learn something new about him all the time.  

We aren't supposed to be getting him up to feed him in the middle of the night, per our pediatrician's recommendation, but it's what works best for all of us to get a good night's rest.  I'm sure after we master this, something else will cause him to change his sleeping habits, like teething or another cold.  It's a running target!  Every month his sleep schedule seems to change and we run as fast as we can to keep up.  Ah, but we wouldn't change it for the world!

Some things I noticed these couple of months:
--Trying my hardest not to compare my kid to other babies who are the same age.  It's really hard when you go to daycare every day and see that younger baby doing more than your older, bigger baby, but every baby develops differently.  There are some things Xavier seems to be ahead of the game on and vice versa.  Even the milestones your doctor gives need to be taken with a grain of salt.  I've learned to just go with the flow and if he's "behind" in something per where society thinks he should be, I just have to think that I'm glad he's staying little just a short while longer.  Once they pass these milestones, there's no going back!  It's exciting when the babies hit the milestones, but there's plenty of time for it to happen.  I barely remember when Xavier used to nap on me.  He doesn't do that anymore and it gives me a major sad face!
--I've never eaten out so much in my life!  I know every restaurant in my area who delivers.  The phone numbers are all programmed in my phone and all the menus are in our kitchen drawer.  I'd love to be able to eat meals we cook at home, but when it comes between choosing to play with Xavier or grocery shop and cook, I pick the baby!
--I have to laugh at myself for not caring about getting back in shape to my pre-baby weight.  My weight and physical fitness were such a huuuuge part of my life before I got pregnant.  I still have about 15 pounds to go, still wear some of my super comfy maternity clothes, and am totally okay with it :)

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